Discerning

I think back to them still, more than two months after first meeting them. Who could have predicted such an encounter and opportunity? Who could have foreseen the Holy Spirit’s web of connectivity being spun in time and space and lives? My seminary classmate who invited me out to his community in central Colorado likely couldn’t have predicted it. We certainly couldn’t have foreseen it when we agreed to visit an area of the country we’d never been. And I’m sure this young couple and family had no idea what was coming.

She approached Gena after a book study hosted by the pastor at his home. In anticipation of our presence with them this book reading club read a book on missions together and we provided some on-the-ground perspective to the pages they had covered and the notes they had made. Over glasses of wine and soda and water accompanied by all manner of home-baked and store bought snacks, cheeses, cookies and other delicacies we spent 90-minutes or so talking about the process of not simply relocating to a new culture but trying to share the Gospel in another language and culture.

But then our time was over and we made conversation on a more one-to-one basis with various people. The 94-year old retired pastor. And the young woman talking with Gena and asking if there was the possibility of joining them for dinner before our departure. She and her husband – and their young daughters – were considering serving as overseas missionaries and they’d love the opportunity to learn more about our experiences.

So a few evenings later we clustered in their small apartment around an island counter covered in soup tureens and platters of fruit and cheese and sliced meats and bread. What was the processing and onboarding like? Did we get to choose our region (no)? Did we get to choose our location within the region (sort of)? What was our orientation process like once we deployed? How long did it take us from the time we onboarded to the time we deployed? What would we have done differently?

So many good questions with so many elusive answers. What works for one person or family might not work for another. A typical process might not be so typical during a pandemic. Inconveniences to one person might be insurmountable obstacles to others. But we tried our best to share what we could, to encourage, to pray. After all, it’s not just us in this process. The Holy Spirit leads and guides and empowers. And at the end of the day we trust it’s Him who is opening doors or closing them, and whether the reasons make sense to us in the moment they might in eternity.

They remain in our prayers as we wonder whether they are moving forward in their explorations or not. And we are grateful that perhaps the Holy Spirit could use us to assist not just this young family but the Church of Christ towards the Father’s final and perfect and complete glory.